Metapneumovirus and alveolar pneumonia

In a large 4-year prospective study of etiologies of radiographically diagnosed community-acquired alveolar pneumonia (CAAP) in almost 1300 children under 5 years of age in Israel, Wolf et al identified human metapneumovirus (HMPV) by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction testing in 8.3% of cases and 2.2% of healthy controls. Children with HMPV and CAAP were comparatively older than those with RSV, and were more likely to have a history of wheezing than those with RSV or four other respiratory viruses tested. HMPV continues to seek its rightful place on the scoreboard of respiratory tract pathogens.